Why do I watch sports a lot?

PLAIN and simple, entertainment. Leisure, pastime, escape, respite, fun, chill out. People usually lead a life in earnest or seriousness—eight hour job, organizational commitment, family lives. So to balance the so-called equilibrium, we loosen up tight fibers off my brain faculties and relax. It is a need more than a necessity... If I couldn't play sports, I'll be the spectator. When I was younger and could still run the length of an oval, I was both. So these days, I just want to be entertained and find some “retreat” from life's mundane obligatories.

          Some people rock out in a rock concert, boogie in a dance hall, or drink a few mojitos in a bar. Yet some spend a few bucks at Fenway Park to relish a Red Sox homerun or at The Oracle to marvel at Steph Curry's unbelievable three-pointers. It'd be weird if I spend ranting about import liberalization or immigration rights all day, or sulked in a corner drowning my broken valentine with Jose Cuervo. I gotta cool out, right?

          So these days, I try not to root for a favorite team the fanatical way anymore. I used to. I was a Los Angeles Lakers diehard when I was young. Now I am just a 55-year old grumpy old dude wanting a good, bated-breath glee watching a sports event. That is why I feel for sports followers who vibe with me on this regard, who had to pay hard-earned money hoping to watch an enjoyable event, and then feel cheated or shortchanged. Like those people who paid $100 pay-per-view fee to watch the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Manny Pacquiao boxing duel two years ago, a supposed gargantuan match-up that we've been waiting for for years. Such a contest is not easy on the pocket. People didn't spend money just to watch a brilliant sports exhibition, or learn what boxing really is. People want to be entertained.

          People want entertainment like Muhammad Ali swirling around like a butterfly and stinging like a bee or Sugar Ray Leonard trapsing his awesome footwork like James Brown. Entertainment. Showtime. That is why it is called professional sports—these athletes are paid to entertain the crowd. That is their job. That is why they earn millions--because people pay to watch them and big business pamper them with lucrative endorsement deals. Hence Mayweather earned $120+ million and Pacquiao got $80+ million. And Kobe Bryant takes home $26 million and Ronaldinho encashes more, etc etcetera.

          Pro sports is not the Olympics where a victory, no matter how fundamentally boring it is, means pride to one's people. It's a victory. Pro sports is plain and simple circus time. Now, time to focus on current NBA playoffs... This time, I just don't want a clinically smart victory. I want some highlight reel jams and nifty, no-look passes, and last-second game-winners. I want some good shit even though I don't need to fork hard-earned moolah for such a fancy distraction. Otherwise there is Netflix and staring at starry, starry night sky. Dig?